Second run at taser gloves uses bug zapper parts

[Jair2k4] ditched the Altoids tins and found a new voltage source for this latest rendition of his taser gloves. Regular readers will remember his first iteration which used wrist-mounted enclosures containing the flash circuitry from disposable cameras to shock the wits out of someone with the laying on of hands. This one is a complete rework but it follows the same concepts.

The new shock circuitry is from a bug zapper in the shape of a fly swatter. We’ve seen these handheld devices before and dismissed them as a gimmick, but [Jair2k4] got his hands on a couple of them and found out they can put out a spark of up to 2300 volts. He set to work by getting rid of the tennis-racket-style grid at the top of the handle. He soldered on some contacts which reach to the tip of his middle-finger and thumb on some rubberized work gloves. The original handle was kept as it’s a nice battery holder and works well strapped to his forearm.

Does it work? You bet – even singing his arm hair and leaving welts on his skin. See for yourself after the break. And yes, this goes on the list of hacks you should recreate!

not to mention that thingie on his arm will get loose at first strike, switch that is poking out of it will lodge into the arm between two bones, and at the end the opponent will piss on his crying head and walk away

Damn. This guy beat me too it. I actually bought the same exactly bug zapper ($5 on amazon FTW) for this type of project. I’m not quite sure where he got the rating of 2300V, though. The capacitor (the big blue gum dropped shaped thing) on the board is clearly labeled as rated for only 400V.

Glove owner to bad guy, please wait until I put on my glove. The only use that comes to mind if you are going out looking for a fight. Assuredly you would find one, but this increases the odds you’ll gt your ass handed to you, because this is going to piss someone off, not incapacitate them. Having said all that, of course this was built for kicks because he could. I think so anyway.

I once got a bad zap from a broken bug zapper.. The zap went from one arm to the other and it was a heck of a jolt… Not recommended!

This happened when I was hacking a broken unit. The paddle was gone, leaving two wires exposed. I thought I had discharged the wires on a conductive surface, but one of the wires was not connected so a residual charge remained in the circuit. When I then futzed with the wires using my fingers, they suddenly made contact.

Nice upgrade. Your a braver man than I. I don’t normally allow high voltage near my skin. Any thoughts on the next upgrade. And if we go super hero might I suggest “Electrode Man”. I kid, but seriously “Electrode Man”.

These devices went on sale in my area once and I bought a few, figuring the low current, high voltage supply would be handy someday. Obviously, I connected my finger in series to see if it would hurt. I was not impressed. It’s only supposed to harm insects, after all.

It depends on the capacitor value. You can make it give you harmful shocks, but the transformer itself will buckle under the load, and the frequency is so high that you’ll get the skin effect, so it doesn’t incapacitate you in any way. The only way it will work is by charging a big capacitor and then discharging it at once.

There are numerous circuit diagrams for making proper tazers on google. It’s not even difficult – all you need is a spool of fine magnet wire.

These devices aren’t much of a hack, because they accomplish nothing. They don’t work as tazers, and don’t pack enough punch to really hurt you either.